Before anyone tells me that they grew up while the PC- age was just developing, I know that but I am ignoring it to some extend, since it helps my plot. You gotta have to live with it, I suppose.:-P Besides, I think that the Saints and especially the Kidos are always on the top of technology, as seen during the grand tournament.

On another note: It was never clear to me if they do teleport or not. (Okay, technically they move at light's speed but I'm not going crazy about such details.) Since they beat the Goldies who can, I assume they do too, since their Cosmo developed to Gold level and sometimes beyond during the fight at Sanctuary. (Beats me why they still travel like 'normal' people sometimes:-P)

Since I still don't have a Beta reader, this one comes up unbetaed. Hope there won't e too many mistakes.

But now on with the story:

Chapter 7

"So you do believe me?"

"Alexei, shut up. I want to sleep," came the muffled response.

Hyoga had pulled the sheet over his head, trying to ignore his roommate's attempt at conversation.

"I won't be quiet, before you answer me," the older boy taunted in a sing-song voice.

Hyoga threw the covers down to his chest with a fluid motion and glared at the other in exasperation. "Okay, fine. Yes, I believe you."

Alexei sat up, grinning at the younger boy. "You do?"

Hyoga nodded.

"And about the ice-Saints being trained in Siberia?"

"If you say so."

"So, what kind of Saint do you think Natasha's boyfriend is?"

Hyoga gave up on sleep and turned on his side, looking at Alexei.

"What do you think?"

Alexei shrugged his shoulders. "Dunno. But I heard rumors that he is being held against his will. I don't think anybody can hold a Saint against his will. They are stronger than any prison."

Hyoga sat up too. "You really admire them? Don't you?"

Alexei sighed. "More than you think, Mikhail. You have no idea what it feels like to be alone in this world, when you are no more than a little eight-year-old kid. I loved my grandmother, and after her death I only had her dreams of peace and freedom. After what she had told me, it is that what the Saints and Athena are fighting for. Here, my life is wasted. I wanted to make a difference to be remembered one day."

"You don't need to be a Saint for that," Hyoga answered.

"No, but it has been my dream all my life. When I was a kid and my grandmother told me the old legends of the Saints and Athena, I had dreamed about possessing that power and fighting for the Goddess, and after Grandmother had died I wanted to do it for her. To keep her dream alive."

"It is said, that no one should become Saint for personal reasons," Hyoga said with a sad chuckle.

"Don't tell me they fight for anything but personal reasons. If you fight for something, you HAVE personal reasons. If they fight for peace, isn't that a personal reason? The desire to make a better place, isn't that a very personal desire? I don't think a Saint who just fights because he is told to, would be very successful."

Hyoga was quiet for a moment, thinking about Alexei's words.

"I think you're seeing the whole thing a bit too romantic. Have you any idea what they have to suffer, before they become as powerful as they are?"

"Better to suffer for a reason, than live for a unimportant existence. I have hoped to become a Saint when my grandmother died, but I had no idea how to get in touch with the people necessary. And before I knew it, I was too old to bother. The Saints start training at a very early age.

Who knows? If I'm very lucky, Natasha's Saint will show me his power someday."

Hyoga looked at him for a long time, while Alexei stared at the far off wall, with a distant, longing look on his face. He felt a pang of regret, for deceiving his new friend, but there was nothing he could do about it. The mission - his long time friend Shun - was more important. "I think it would be better if we slept now", he said, leaning back on the mat.

Alexei nodded and lay back down as well.

stsstsstsstsstsstssts

The next day went by uneventfully, and it was not until the following day, mid-afternoon, when Hyoga suddenly heard a nervous whisper run through the kitchen. He was standing at the back of the room, washing some dishes and couldn't see the front of the kitchen. Even though he was curious, what it was about, he didn't leave his work. He couldn't afford to get into trouble with his boss and therefore he avoided to be noticed more than he needed to be. While continuing with his chore, he observed some of the female helps hurry to the supply room and come out again a minute later, carrying some fruit. With their load they disappeared back to where they came from.

After a minute or so, he heard Ivan call him. Hyoga took off his apron and laid it aside with a sigh, before he followed the order and went to the front of the kitchen too. So much about staying unnoticed, he thought.

But as soon as he got a clear view of the front of the big room, he inhaled sharply and had to fight the urge to stand still in surprise. Shun stood at Ivan's side, listening with neutral expression to something the big man said. Hyoga followed his lead and kept his face emotionless as well.

"Mikhail here will help you and carry the fruits for you, sir," The large man addressed the younger one in broken English.

Shun just nodded, turned and walked out of the room, without as much as a glance at Hyoga.

Hyoga took the basket full of fruits, standing on the floor and followed the Saint out of the room.

After they were out of earshot from the kitchen, Shun slowed his pace and let Hyoga catch up with him.

"Mikhail, Hmm? Whose idea was that?" he smiled.

Hyoga smiled back at him. "I didn't cut my hair, just to give myself away with my real name, you know. By the way. Good to see you."

Shun nodded shortly. "It was hard to find an excuse to see you, and I wasn't sure if it would be you who were selected to help me carrying the heavy basket."

"Not to mention, that you could carry it very well yourself."

Shun grinned at him. "We wouldn't want your cover blown, now would we?"

Hyoga answered with a grin.

"Let's go talk in my room. We'll be unobserved there", Shun said.

Hyoga nodded and followed his friend.

They arrived at Shun's quarters and stepped in. Shun closed the door carefully behind them, and Hyoga posed the fruits on the table.

"You have no idea, how glad I was to see you, even though I almost didn't recognize you at first."

"And what gave me away?" Hyoga asked, eyebrows raised.

"Your glasses. I have told you before that they are ugly and you should get lenses instead."

"Well, I am wearing lenses at the moment," Hyoga smiled.

Shun laughed. Hyoga grinned back, went to the Saint and gave him a tight hug, getting an answering hug from his friend.

"We were very worried about you, Shun," Hyoga said, looking his friend over. "You don't look so good."

Shun dismissed Hyoga's worried glance with a wave of his hand. "Don't worry about that. I'll be okay now that you are here. Where are the others?"

"No others. I'm alone."

Shun looked at him thoughtfully. "Yes, guess it was easier to get one of you here, and since you speak the language perfectly you're the best choice."

Hyoga didn't answer. Shun would know soon enough what had really happened.

"And what did Athena manage with your Cosmo? I couldn't feel it, when I reached out."

"It's gone," Hyoga simply stated.

"Yes, I figured that myself," Shun laughed. "Must be a weird feeling, being temporarily without Cosmo, no?"

Hyoga stared at Shun. His friend thought that Athena had 'temporarily' freed him of the Cosmo? Well if that was the case, he would leave him in that belief for now. They had enough other problems the moment, without his betrayal too.

"Not very pleasant, really," he answered. "Look Shun. We don't have much time. I was planning to disarm the bombs, and then escape with you. I already checked the area around the castle. We will have to flee trough the woods until the boarder of Natasha's lands."

"Why don't we just teleport out? She has no hold over me any longer, once she doesn't have the bombs as a threat anymore."

"Okay, then I will flee trough the woods, you teleport," Hyoga said with a smirk.

"Oh damn, I forgot. You can't teleport without Cosmo. In that case, we'll flee together. No way that I leave you back.. Isn't Athena coming to help us, once the bombs are of no more danger?"

Hyoga bit his lower lip. They were moving on dangerous ground if he intended to keep his secret a little longer.

"No, she won't. Listen, we can discuss this, once we're out of here. We don't have much time, and can't meet again before we escape. We can't risk to attire attention. If Natasha looks at me too closely, she might recognize me.

Do you know if she can detect the location of a Cosmo? Do we have to eliminate the barrier?"

Shun shook his head. "No, she can only tell how many developed Cosmos there are on her lands. We will have to disarm the bombs, though. I know their locations, so we can destroy them, once we're back in Japan. But I can't do it. She has put a yet stronger barrier around this room, and as soon, as anybody with Cosmo goes there, one of the bombs will go off."

Hyoga nodded slowly. "So I will be the one to do it."

"You know how to handle the Computers?" Shun asked.

Hyoga just glared at him with raised eyebrows. "What do you think. We don't have computers in Siberia?"

Shun lifted his hands. "Okay, okay, forgive me for asking. Unfortunately I don't have the pass-word to enter the program."

"Well, I do. At least, if they didn't change it in the last month," Hyoga answered.

Shun looked at him, puzzled. "Where did you get that from?"

Hyoga just shrugged.

"You know the location of the computer room?"

"Yes. It is situated in the basement. You have to go to the west-wing and walk the hallway to its end. At your right, there is a heavy door, which will lead you to a stair. The door at its end is the one to the computer room", Shun explained.

"The only problem will be to sneak out unnoticed."

"The best would be to do it at night, so you have more chances to get that far."

"Well, I have a roommate with a light sleep. He will definitely hear me leave."

"I'm sure you'll think of something", Shun responded.

"I will wait for the weekend, when there is less staff around. Be ready to get out on Sunday morning. Meet me at the front gate at four o'clock.."

"And if it doesn't work out, or you get caught?"

Hyoga just looked at him calmly. "Let's just hope, nothing goes wrong. We only have this one chance. And if I'm not at the gate by four, you can only hope that I didn't find a chance to get out in the first place. Otherwise our plan will fail, before it's started."

Shun nodded seriously. He didn't want to think about what would happen if something went wrong and Hyoga was caught.

"Alright. I think I better go back or they will start to miss me in the kitchen. I'll see you on Sunday." Hyoga smiled at his friend and turned to leave.

"Bye Hyoga, be careful," Shun said.

"Do you really have Computers in Siberia?" he added as an afterthought.

Hyoga turned with a smirk. "We don't even have electricity, most of the time.

"See you on Sunday." And with those words, he was out of the door.

Shun watched him leave with wide eyes, and then shook his head. "He looks like a nerd, but Saori really should have sent somebody who really knows what to do with Computers," he mumbled to himself.

t.b.c.